Maternity is based on the fact of childbirth. The mother of a child is the person who gave birth to them. It is not possible to deviate from this principle. In the case of assisted reproduction, it does not matter whether the egg was donated by another woman.
It is also not possible to give up maternity by leaving a child. If a child is found (e.g. it was placed in a ‘baby box’), the police will start an investigation. If the mother is found, she is entered in the registry of births, deaths and marriages as the mother of the child; otherwise, the child has the status of a foundling. A court will determine their given name and surname and a tutor. However, the law allows for so-called secret births. A mother whose husband does not have a presumption of paternity may apply to her health care provider to keep her identity secret. In this case, however, a legal relationship is established between the mother and the child, even though the identity of the mother is secret. The mother has parental responsibility even if she does not exercise it, and therefore a tutor is appointed for the child by a court.